Newsletter

SPORTS NOTEBOOK National Signing Day is busy for locals

South Effingham soccer teammates Kaitlyn Drittler (left) and Sarah Grayson recently signed letters of intent to play at West Georgia and Newberry. (Donald Heath/For Effingham Now)

Effingham County running back Toot Johnson signs a letter of intent to play football at Carson-Newman University on National Signing Day. (Donald Heath/For Effingham Now)

Lamonee “Toot” Johnson earned his nickname from his mother, who watched his youth football games and said the anticipation of his runs reminded her of the sound of an oncoming train.

And after displaying similar speed and breakaway ability for four years as a running back at Effingham County High School, the next stop for Toot is Jefferson City, Tenn.

Johnson inked a letter of intent Feb. 7, National Signing Day, to play football and run track with the Carson-Newman University Eagles.

At South Effingham, two teammates of another kind of football also made their post-high school destinations known. Kaitlyn Drittler, a midfielder on the Mustangs girls’ soccer team, will be headed to the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.

Sarah Grayson, who plays on SEHS’ defensive backline, will head to Newberry College in Newberry, S.C.

All three athletes said they arrived at their decisions after feeling at home at the smaller Division II schools.

Johnson had several Division I offers, including the University of Kansas, but ultimately chose the smaller Christian liberal arts school of approximately 2,500 students.

“I decided it was a great fit for me, because talking with the players when I was up there, we developed that connection. It seemed like the place to be,” said Johnson, who will pursue a degree in business technology.

Despite missing four games because of injuries in 2017, Johnson ran for 757 yards and seven touchdowns for the Rebels. He also holds school track records, posting a 10.81 in the 100-meter dash and a 21.89 in the 200.

At the Blitz Border Bowl, a local high school all-star football game on Jan. 13, Johnson ran for 105 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and was named the most valuable player.

Drittler, who wasted little time blasting a goal against Islands in SEHS’ season opener on Feb. 8, didn’t need much time developing chemistry with her future school and teammates.

“I love West Georgia,” she said. “It’s a beautiful campus, a beautiful facility. The people were so welcoming. I met the team, and they were so inviting.”

Drittler, a defender with her club team SSA Chelsea in Atlanta, earned honorable mention accolades on the Savannah Morning News’ All-Greater Savannah Girls Soccer Team last season.

“I just want to work hard for (South Effingham) and grow as a player and be the best I can be,” said Drittler about her upcoming senior season.

She is leaning toward a degree in engineering at West Georgia.

Grayson didn’t need much prodding to make Newberry her future home for the next four years after high school.

“I walked on their campus and knew it was for me,” she said. “It was a family atmosphere. It’s small community.”

As a defender, Grayson uses her skills to stop goals, but her future is filled pursuing lofty academic goals. She plans on getting into Newberry’s pre-physical therapy program, majoring in biology and getting a doctorate in physical therapy.

But first, she’d like to leave her mark with the Mustangs.

“I want to make this the best year, have a lot of fun and grow the team, so we’re not just leaving them,” Grayson said. “I want to help build them as a team so they can go farther in the future.”

Former ECHS star earns second Sun Belt honor

Former Effingham County star Kayla Robinson, now at Troy University, earned her second straight Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor for the week ending Feb. 5.

Robinson poured in a career-high 28 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Trojans to an 82-71 win over South Alabama on Feb. 3.

Over her last six games, the sophomore guard from Clyo is averaging more than 21 points a game.

ECHS lacrosse to play in Savannah

The Effingham County lacrosse team will be in action Saturday in the second-annual Lowlax Kick Off at Daffin Park’s Morris Field in Savannah.

The lacrosse showcase will begin at 8 a.m., featuring youth, high school and college teams in a tournament-style setting. Effingham will play Richmond Hill B at 10:30 a.m., then at 11:20 a.m. play Savannah Country Day and at 1:50 p.m. play Richmond Hill A.

A college game between Mars Hill and Lynn University begins at 3:30 p.m. to conclude the showcase.